She Will Be Loved
by DontWakeMeUp
Summary: Best friends. That's all they were; but no matter how close they got, it just wasn't enough... for either of them. DISCONTINUED.
1. Longing

**DISCLAIMER:**  
I do not own Card Captor Sakura. All characters and anything affiliated with the series is owned by CLAMP.

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An emerald eyed girl sat, cross legged, in the living room of a very neat apartment. Her short auburn hair was soaking wet and her eyes were dull, dry and bloodshot. A forest green blanket was wrapped around her shivering body, and she wore a borrowed t-shirt and sweatpants. She sat on the tan, leather couch with a solemn face; her eyes fixated on the empty space in front of her.

A tall, chestnut haired teenager walked into the room balancing various items on a tray. He looked at the girl on his couch, his amber eyes showing concern and sympathy. He walked to the coffee table in front of the couch and knelt down, whilst placing the tray on the table. He then faced the auburn haired girl and placed the back of his hand on her forehead.

"You're burning up," he said simply.

She only shrugged in indifference.

He took one of the mugs from the tray and handed it to her. "Honey milk," he said. "You're favorite. It'll help you get better; you need to have something warm."

She took the mug and looked down at the contents inside it. She could smell the sweet, tempting scent of the honey, but she didn't move.

The boy frowned. "Sakura," he started. "Don't beat yourself up over this. Come on, just drink it; I don't want you getting sick." He took her free hand and closed his over it. "Sakura…"

"…Alright," Sakura replied, barely audible. She brought the hot liquid to her lips and slowly took a sip, savoring the taste, before handing it back to the boy. The amber eyed teenager sighed as he took the mug from her and placed it back on the tray. "I guess it's a start." He got up from his kneeling position and sat down on the couch next to her. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows and bit her lip, as if debating on whether to talk or not, before she finally spoke. "He cheated on me," she said. "Rika and I saw Sakamoto-san kissing another girl."

The chestnut haired boy felt anger boil up inside him. Sakamoto-san had just started going out with Sakura three weeks ago, and he was already seen with another girl. He made a mental note to personally give him a message tomorrow at school for hurting his best friend.

Yes, _best friend_. He and Sakura had been best friends since he had come to Tomoeda, Japan in search of the Clow Cards. They had a pretty rough beginning at first, but they eventually worked out their differences, and now they were extremely close. They and Tomoyo, another childhood friend of theirs, were always together. The three have made a perfect team since they were innocent ten year olds; and now, here they were, sixteen years old and facing the dramas of high school.

Tomoyo would usually be the one that Sakura came to for problems like this, but she was vacationing with her mother in Europe. So Sakura went to the next person that came to mind; Li Syaoran.

Syaoran had found her waiting outside his apartment when he got home from the store. Her hair was in disarray, her eyes showing signs of crying, and she was soaked to the bone due to the pouring rain. He had quickly ushered her inside and leant her some dry clothes to change into after she had showered. Now, here they were, sitting on his couch: Sakura wrapped in a warm fleece blanket, and Syaoran watching her, very concerned.

He was pulled out his thoughts when Sakura had suddenly turned and looked at him; her eyes showing her vulnerability. It pained him every time she got upset, and for the past year or so, it had been happening with a sort of frequency. Sakura's good looks and cheerful attitude gained her the attention of practically every boy at school, so it was only expected that she start dating.

The only problem was that every relationship she had turned into a failure. _Every. Single. One_. They all ended with Sakura being betrayed in some way. For that, Syaoran really felt bad for her, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel the slightest tinge of happiness. You could call him selfish, but he would only call it love. Yep, you guessed it: he was in love with his best friend.

Li Syaoran was in love with Kinomoto Sakura.

He had been in love with her since they met, although he was way too blind and naïve to realize it; but thanks to the insightful Daidouji Tomoyo, he soon realized his real feelings for the emerald eyed girl.

Although Syaoran always got upset whenever Sakura got a new boyfriend, he always smiled at the fact that he was able to give Sakura her first kiss. Yes, you heard it right. Syaoran and Sakura gave eachother their first kiss three years ago at Tomoyo's thirteenth birthday party during a game of 'Truth or Dare.'

…And the outcome of the event? Two crimson faced teenagers getting mobbed by Tomoyo, Rika, Chiharu and Naoko over how "kawaii" they were. Even Takashi and Eriol added some fuel to the fire, resulting in getting the infamous death glare from Syaoran. Tomoyo, of course, videotaped the event and deemed the tape one of her 'family treasures.'

Despite the embarrassment that got him, he was still really happy about the whole thing. It was the closest he thought he would probably ever get to being Sakura's actually boyfriend. Syaoran had tried a countless number of times to tell Sakura his real feelings for her, but something had interrupted him every time. Every. Single. Damn. Time.

He eventually gave up trying to tell her, but that only led to getting scolded by Tomoyo about how it may become too late. And so he decided that he'd try again the next time he saw her. Little did he know that the next time he'd see her would be when she was getting asked out by someone else.

…And it broke his heart when she said, 'Yes.'

Still, he hadn't couldn't bring himself to give her up. Even if he couldn't be with her, he just hoped that she was happy, but her past experiences with boyfriends just made her feel the exact opposite: sad, depressed and lonely. He just hoped that she would find that one person that would truly make her happy. She definitely didn't deserve all of this heartache.

"What am I doing wrong?" she asked in a pained voice. "Is something wrong with me? The way I act? The way I look?"

This only angered Syaoran even more. He obviously wasn't mad at her, but all of the boys that gave her those thoughts.

"No," he answered firmly, trying to control his temper. He looked her straight in the eye and took her hand. "Nothing is wrong with you, never was, never will be. You are perfect the way you are…," he looked away from her and added, in a softer voice, "…And if none of them can see that, then it's their own loss."

She smiled a watery smile. "Arigatou, Syaoran."

He smiled in return, but he almost felt like crying himself when she started crying again. He quickly wrapped his arms around her petite frame and pulled her close to him.

"All the time, I wonder…," she said through her tears. "I wonder if I'll ever find someone that likes me as much as I liked them… Or better yet, love."

"You'll find that person," he said quietly. "I'm sure you'll find him someday."

She smiled. "I hope it's soon. I hate feeling like this."

'_And I hate seeing you like this,'_ he thought. "Me too."

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath as her tears stopped. _'I really hope that person is you,'_ she thought to herself before she fell asleep in his arms.

Syaoran looked down at her sleeping form. She looked so peaceful and serene when she was asleep. He resisted the urge to run his fingers through her soft auburn locks that framed her face. He had to fight even harder to resist kissing her cherry lips that were currently turned up in a smile.

He put his hand against her forehead again and felt that it was even hotter. He frowned. She definitely had a fever now. He got up and carefully scooped her up in his arms and brought her to his bedroom where he gently laid her on the bed and draped the covers over her body. He walked towards the door, but looked back before he left the room.

"If only," he whispered. "I could be that person." He turned the light off and quietly shut the door. "Hmm… I think I'll make some soup for Sakura," he said to himself. "It'll help her feel better." He walked towards the kitchen, but just then, the phone rang.

"Moshi, moshi?" he answered.

"Hello. Is this Syaoran-kun? It's Fujitaka," a kind voice answered.

"Fujitaka-san! Hello. Yes, this is Syaoran."

"Have you seen Sakura, Syaoran-kun?" Fujitaka asked, worried.

"Hai. She's here, actually. She fell asleep a little while ago, I think she has a fever…"

"Oh, dear…"

"Don't worry. I made her some honey-milk and I was just about to go make her some soup."

"I'm glad Sakura-chan has a very good and caring friend like you, Syaoran-kun."

Syaoran blushed.

"I'll leave you then. Since it's pretty late, I'll guess she'll probably stay at your place overnight, then?"

"Hai. Hopefully, she'll be well enough to go to school. I'll call you in the morning to let you know."

"Arigatou. Ja!"

"Ja!"

Back at the Kinomoto household, Fujitaka had just hung up the phone. He went over to the picture of his wife and picked it up.

"I'm sure that you'd be very happy for our daughter, Nadeshiko." The middle aged man smiled. "She has found the one person that makes her the happiest…" Suddenly, his smile turned into a very slight frown. "We can only hope that she realizes it soon."

**This is going to be a very short story: most likely up to 5 chapters, maybe 6... Who knows? :D  
Comments? Suggestions? I'm open to all ideas.**


	2. Misunderstanings

**DISCLAIMER:**  
I do not own Card Captor Sakura. All characters and anything affiliated with the series is owned by CLAMP.

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Sakura slowly opened her eyes and scanned her surroundings. She abruptly sat up when she didn't at first realize that she was in Syaoran's bedroom.

"Oh yeah…" she said, when the day's events came back to her. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 8 o'clock; she had been asleep for only an hour or so. She tiredly got out of bed and trudged her way out of the room. She followed the delicious smell of food cooking in the kitchen.

"Syao…ran…" she yawned, when she saw him standing by the stove. She rubbed her eye, trying to wake herself up.

Syaoran turned around, surprised that she was up already. "You're up."

She childishly nodded and walked over towards him. "Mmm… looks good," she said when she saw the pot of soup he was making.

"Your dad's recipe; I know it's one of your favorites," he replied as he turned off the stove. "I hope you're hungry."

"Mhm!" she chirped.

"Go sit down. I'll bring the food in just a sec."

"Hai, hai." She walked over to the table and sat in her usual seat. She looked at her surroundings; Syaoran's apartment had definitely changed over the years.

She remembered the first time she ever came over; it was to give him a present for White Day since he gave her chocolates on Valentine's Day (Yes, I know that the manga got it all backwards and crap). The apartment was absolutely spotless… but so dreadfully boring. Syaoran had eventually begun to redecorate the place by adding his own personal touches; but it wasn't a surprise that Tomoyo and Sakura decided to help out too. Now the place really looked like a teenager lived in it, despite it still being so neat.

"Here you go," Syaoran said as he placed a bowl of soup in front of her. He placed his bowl down in the chair across from hers.

Sakura tasted it and her eyes immediately lit up. "This is really good, Syao-kun!" she praised.

"A-arigatou," he stuttered. He felt his cheeks heat up and he immediately looked down.

"Hoe?" she said quietly, but decided to shrug it off and focus on eating… or at least, _try_ to focus.

Truth was, she could not get her mind off of the amber eyed boy in front of her. She really admired how much he had grown over the years. He definitely got a lot taller; he was at least five-foot-eight by now. His years of training in martial arts definitely toned his body some… and then some. She blushed fiercely at the thought.

"Sakura? Are you alright?" Syaoran asked, worried. He leaned over the table and placed his forehead on hers. "You're still burning up."

She squeaked. "I'm fine!" she said hurriedly, and then bent her head back down, getting another spoonful of the soup in her mouth.

"Okay then…" he replied, unsure.

Sakura felt her heart racing at how close his face was near hers. As much as she enjoyed being near him, it scared her.

It scared her more than anything. Whenever he got close to her, she had to restrain herself from her urges to kiss him; to feel his lips against hers. She always found her heart racing whenever she came in close contact with him, especially his hugs. She loved the feeling of being in his arms; she always felt so secure… and at home.

He'd gotten even more mature over the years too, if that was really possible. But the biggest change would probably have to be how much friendlier he had gotten. He was very popular among the school now; valedictorian of their class and one of the star players on the soccer team. His good looks were another plus too, and girls always fawned over him.

Yet, Sakura couldn't understand why he didn't have a girlfriend.

Although she didn't want to see him with anyone else, she wanted him to be happy. As long as he was happy, she told herself that she would be too.

She cared for him. She hated to see him upset, and just seeing him happy made her the happiest person alive. To put it simply, she loved him.

Kinomoto Sakura loved Li Syaoran.

She first realized that she loved him after he almost moved back to Hong Kong after she had changed all of the Sakura Cards. She was on the verge of a breakdown when she heard the news that he had gone to the airport. She had dashed out of her room; her intentions on getting to the airport no matter what, even if she had to run there herself. She was surely shocked when she swung the front door open and found him standing on her front steps, with his hands in his pockets.

_Flashback_…

"What—I thought—Why?" she stammered, her eyes wide.

He looked down at the ground and replied quietly, "I couldn't leave."

She blinked. "Why not?"

"…You want me to leave?"

"Iie! It's not like that at all. I mean… what changed your mind?"

He shrugged and then looked at her. "I've grown accustom to this place and to everyone here…" 'especially you,' he added mentally, but she didn't know that. "My mother says I can stay here from now on."

"Really?" she asked in disbelief. She was practically jumping for joy inside.

"Really," he said with a slight smile.

She smiled back and ran to him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug, her tears falling freely. He was caught by surprise at first, but then returned the hug.

"You're crying," he said when he made her look at him in the eye.

"I'm just so happy that you're back," she said, still smiling. "You're my best friend, Syaoran-kun. I don't know what I'd do if you had left."

_End of Flashback._

Sakura smiled when she remembered that day; that's when her feelings about him finally became clear to her. She wanted to tell him; her feelings needed release…

…but she couldn't.

She didn't want to get hurt if he rejected her, and she definitely didn't want their friendship to suffer because of it. Of course, she only got scolded by Tomoyo for a week after she told her.

A year ago, she had finally decided to confront him about her feelings… only to have her feelings for him come back and practically smack her in the face.

_Flashback_…

"I'm going to tell him, Tomoyo," a fifteen year old Sakura said.

The amethyst-eyed girl gasped. "You mean—"

Sakura nodded.

Tomoyo squealed. "Oh! Go! Go tell him!" she exclaimed, pushing her towards the school gates where Syaoran was talking to his other friends.

Sakura neared the gates and was about to speak up, but stopped when she heard someone say her name. She quickly hid behind a tree and listened. Eavesdropping usually wasn't something that she did, and she always felt guilty about it, but she wanted to know why they were talking about _her_.

"…you do," Sakura heard Eriol say as he finished his sentence. "Come on, admit it: You love her, Syaoran."

Sakura's eyes widened. 'He likes someone already?'

"No, I don't," said Syaoran.

"Yes, you do," said Takashi. "You love Sakura."

Sakura gasped.

"No, I don't. I don't love her like that," Syaoran replied.

She felt her heart breaking.

"She's only my friend."

"_Best_ friend," Eriol corrected.

"Yes, _best_ friend," Syaoran continued. "But we'll never be more than that."

"Sure, whatever you say," said Takashi, but he knew that his friend was lying, which was pretty ironic.

Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She silently ran from her hiding place, past a puzzled Tomoyo, back into the school building. She slumped against a wall and slid down to the floor, breaking into tears.

"I guess we aren't meant to be more than friends," she said, brokenly.

_End of flashback._

If she only knew the _truth_.

Knowing that she couldn't cry over it forever, she wanted to move on as best as she could. She wasn't oblivious to the many guys that she caught the attention of; she'd already been asked out numerous times, all of them declined for her best friend. But now, she decided it was the perfect time to give them a chance.

She hoped that one of them could maybe help ease, if not, erase, the pain in her heart. After all, she deserved to be happy right?

Too bad she didn't know that each of those boys she gave a chance to would hurt her even more. She couldn't say that they broke her heart, for she did not love them. She began to grow a little closer to one or two of them, yes, but she could never bring herself to loving them.

She couldn't love anyone other than Li Syaoran.

"Well, I'm done!" she chirped as she stood up to wash her bowl. "Arigatou, Syaoran. It was delicious!"

Syaoran smiled as he stood up as well and helped her with the dishes. "Your uniform's all washed for tomorrow. Your father called and I told him you'd stay over."

"Oh dear, I can't believe I forgot to call him…" Sakura said, a little worried.

"He said it's fine. Just call him in the morning."

"Thanks for letting me stay over," she said.

"It's no problem… Anyway, I'll sleep on the couch. You can have my bed—"

"I don't want to be anymore of a burden, Syaoran—"

"Really, it's no trouble at all—"

"Syaorannn—" she whined.

"Sakura, it's fine," he reassured.

"No, it's not! You've already done so much for me."

"Sakura…" he said, getting a little impatient.

"Fine, but I'm not backing down… and it's obvious that you aren't either," Sakura said, matter-of-factly. "So… we'll share."

His eyes widened like saucers. "N-nani?!"

"I said, 'we'll share.' I don't want you losing a good night's sleep because of me." She poked his chest. "And I won't take 'no' for an answer," she added before skipping off to his room.

Syaoran stood there in the hallway, not believing what he was about to do.

**Eh... boring chapter...**

**Things should pick up next chapter with the rest of the CCS gang. :D**


	3. Hesitation

**DISCLAIMER: CARDCAPTOR SAKURA BELONGS TO CLAMP.**

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Special thanks to Twilight_Kisses again!

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It was 5 o'clock a.m. when Syaoran's alarm woke him up with a start. _'Time to train…,'_ he thought to himself, feeling annoyed. He blindly shut the clock off and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and paused when he felt something come in contact with his arm when he tried to get out of bed.

Looking down, he saw Sakura sleeping peacefully beside him. A sweet smile adorned her lips and her auburn locks framed her delicate face. Syaoran blushed when he noticed their close proximity. His face turned a few shades redder when he remembered the events from last night.

_Flashback_

_Syaoran uneasily stepped foot in his room after getting ready to go to sleep and found Sakura sitting on his bed._

"_A-ano, Sakura… Really, I can sleep on the couch—" he started, but was interrupted by the Card Mistress in front of him._

"_No way. This is your room, so you should sleep here. If you're really uncomfortable with this, then I'll go on the couch—"_

"_I-Iie… don't do that. It's okay…"_

"_Okay."_

_He took a seat next to her on the bed. "You're… a lot more cheerful now."_

"_Yeah…," she smiled, "all thanks to you."_

"_I-I really d-didn't do anything…" he stammered. 'Kami, I'm such an idiot around her,' he mentally hit himself over the head._

_She shook her head. "No, really, you do a lot for me," She looked away from him and he could've sworn that he saw her cheeks turn red. "You've always done a lot for me… and I really, really appreciate it," She looked back at him, any evidence of a blush gone. "I only wish that I could do more for you, though."_

"…_Your smile is thanks enough," he replied quietly._

"_You really are sweet, you know that?"_

_He felt his cheeks starting to burn._

"_I remember," she started, "when you first came here to Tomoeda—"_

"_I was a jerk to you, and you were still nice to me," he said guiltily._

"_You had a mission; you couldn't afford to deter from it. Besides, it never really bothered me that much."_

"_Still…"_

"_Anyway, regardless, you've always been really caring and nice. It may not have been so evident before, but it is now, and that's all that matters."_

_They smiled at each other._

"…_It's late," Syaoran announced when he looked at the clock; it was close to eleven._

"_Oh! You're right. I don't want to make you late," she said playfully. She got under the covers and he followed suit. However, Sakura sat right back up. "…Syaoran?"_

_He sat up as well, "hai?"_

"_A-ano…"_

_He raised an eyebrow, "nani?"_

"_I—" she shook her head, "N-nevermind. Oyasumi," she said, and quickly kissed his cheek before laying back down._

_End of Flashback_

Syaoran jumped when she stirred. Her eyes fluttered open, her emerald pools landing right on his embarrassed face. She looked confused at first, as to wondering about her surroundings, but realization soon donned on her and she smiled.

"Ohayo, Syao-kun!" she greeted.

"Ohayo, Sakura," he replied, thankfully, without stammering.

She yawned, "what time is it?"

"Ah... quarter after five."

"Five?! Hmm… funny, I feel wide awake," She sat up and stretched her arms. "Oh, I wish I could wake up this early more often—Wait, shouldn't you be training?"

"Eh, I'll do it later," he replied nonchalantly.

"Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Besides, I'm hungry; and we wouldn't want you cooking unsupervised now, do we? You might burn the apartment complex down," he said with a playful smirk.

"Mou!" she hit his arm… hard.

"Oi! What was that for?" he rubbed his arm. He didn't want to admit it, but she had a pretty powerful punch.

"For being a meanie!" she accused him childishly.

"Oh, yeah?" he crept closer to her, "Well, how's _this_ for a meanie?"

Sakura tried to escape from him, but he managed to wrap his arms around her before that and then proceeded to tickle her mercilessly.

"Syao—Stop it! Syao—ran!" she said in between fits of laughter. She tried to fight back, but he was bigger and much stronger than she was. In the process, she accidentally kicked his leg, causing him to lose his balance and making him fall on top of her. They both turned crimson as they stared into each other's eyes and tried to catch their breath.

As far as they were concerned, nothing else was significant at that moment. The only thing they were aware of was the feel of their bodies against each other, it just felt so… _right_. He hesitantly laced his fingers through hers as his face slowly leaned closer to hers; her eyes closed upon instinct. Just as their lips were about to make contact, the telephone rang, breaking them out of their reverie.

"G-Gomen," he breathed heavily, scrambling to get off of her so he could answer the phone.

Sakura remained there, motionless. She couldn't believe what just—almost—happened.

"Moshi moshi?" Syaoran asked, answering the phone.

Sakura watched as Syaoran's face slowly turned into a scowl before handing her the phone as he muttered profanities under his breath. He walked out of the room and she heard the bathroom door shut.

She sighed before speaking into the receiver, "what is it now, onii-chan?" It was a good thing she put a very good distance between her and the phone, all from prior experience, for the next thing she heard was shouting.

"…WHY DI… SLEEPOVER… ESE GAKI… HURT HI… O GAV… ERMISSION… COMING… PICK YOU U… OUT OF… NOW!!!"

She scowled, clearly annoyed. "I slept over here because 'tou-san said that I could. I'm really not in the mood for this right now, Touya. We're going to stop by at the house before school so I can get my backpack, so I'll see you in a little while." She heard him mutter a string of curses before hanging up.

Sakura got out of bed and went into the, now free, bathroom and freshened up. Afterwards, she walked into the kitchen and found Syaoran taking things out of the pantry.

"Sorry about my onii-chan…"

He shrugged it off. "I'm used to it now, I guess."

She looked at the ingredients in his hands and her eyes lit up. "Pancakes???"

He smiled, nodding, "I know they're your favorite. I'll make them, and you can make the eggs and juice the oranges."

"Hai!" And they set to work.

~*~

Breakfast turned out very well, in fact, there were absolutely no mishaps in the kitchen; quite a feat for Sakura. After eating, they got dressed in their school uniforms. Syaoran paled when she told him that they would have to stop by her house first so she could get her backpack.

"…I—I don't think I should go in here…" he said uneasily as they approached the warm, yellow house.

"Oh, come on. Onii-chan won't kill yo—"

"…I'LL GET THAT CHINESE GAKI!" The pair heard from inside.

"You still don't think that he'll kill me?"

She put her hands on her hips. "Do you want to give him the impression that you, _Li Syaoran_, are scared of_ him_?" she taunted.

He remained silent.

"That's what I thought. Now, if he doesn't listen, then I'll just have to bring the cards out on him," she said a little too innocently.

"OI! KAIJUU! GET THAT BRAT IN HERE!" the two heard Touya yell from inside; they sweatdropped.

The door opened, and they flinched, preparing for a scream-fest, but it never came. They looked up and saw Kinomoto Fujitaka, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Sakura-san, Syaoran-kun, come in. I think… er, Touya-san wants to speak to both of you?" he said.

The two nodded dumbly and stiffly walked up the walkway.

"Oh, don't take him too seriously," Fujitaka reassured as the amber eyed teen passed by, "you know how he is with his little sister." He smiled warmly.

Syaoran nodded in understanding.

"GAKI! GET OVER HERE!" Touya yelled from the livingroom.

Syaoran took a deep breath and walked in with Touya's glaring eyes being the first thing to greet him. He took a seat on the couch, next to the apprehensive Sakura.

"Now," Touya stood directly in front of the two, "_why the hell_ did you sleep over this _brat_'s house yesterday?" he directed at Sakura. Syaoran scowled.

"Sakamoto-san broke up with me yesterday," Sakura said.

"NANI?!—THAT SON OF A—I'LL KILL HIM!" the college graduate raised his fist.

"No you won't!" Sakura defended, "just leave him be. I don't want to have to do anything with him anymore; he isn't worth it!"

Touya crossed his arms. "Fine… but it _still_ doesn't explain why you slept over at _**his **_place last night; why didn't you go over to Tomoyo's?"

"Tomoyo's in Europe with her Sonomi-san, remember? It was pouring rain outside, and Syaoran's apartment was the closest place I could get to."

"You should've called afterwards!"

"She wasn't in good shape when I found her," Syaoran cut in, "her clothes were soaked from the rain and she was running a fever."

"He let me borrow some dry clothes so my fever wouldn't get worse," Sakura continued, "I fell asleep after that. Then otou-san called Syaoran and told him that I could stay there since it was getting late anyway."

Touya narrowed his eyes at the amber-eyed boy on the couch. "You didn't try anything funny, did you?" he said in a dangerously low voice.

Syaoran's eyes widened. "Wha—No, no! I—I wouldn't!" he stammered, his face turned as red as a cherry.

"DID HE TRY TO MAKE A MOVE ON YOU WHILE YOU WERE IN BAD SHAPE?" Touya asked, no, _demanded_, from Sakura.

Her eyes widened as well. "Iie! He'd never!"

Touya was still unconvinced. However, Fujitaka intervened before he could question them anymore.

"That's enough, Touya-san. If you delay them anymore, Sakura-san and Syaoran-san will be late for school," the kind man handed Sakura her backpack, "you two run along now."

"Arigatou, 'tou-san," she kissed her father on the cheek, "I'll see you after school," she left the room and headed towards the front door.

Syaoran bowed in respect to Fujitaka before leaving.

"Don't think I don't know what you feel for my sister," Touya spoke lowly as Syaoran followed Sakura out the door. "If you make her do _anything_ she doesn't want to or upset her in _any_ way, I won't hesitate to kill you," He brushed past the teen and went upstairs.

Syaoran gulped inwardly; that guy could be ridiculously scary when he wanted to be.

-----

The two walked closely together along the path from Sakura's house to the high school. After last night, Sakura found herself feeling a lot more better about the situation; she was especially glad that Syaoran was there for her. She brought a hand to her chest, right above her rapidly beating heart, closing her eyes as a blissful feeling washed over her at the thought of Syaoran. She froze when reality hit her.

"Nani?" Syaoran asked, he was already a little ahead of her before noticing that she was no longer beside him. "What's wrong?"

Sakura looked up at him, evidently nervous, "Uhh..."

"Come on, you can tell me," he urged gently, coming forward and placing his hands on her shoulders.

"It's just... well, Sakamoto-san will be at school... and it's going to be really… awkward," she mumbled while looking at the ground.

Unconsciously, Syaoran placed a strand of her soft, auburn tresses behind her ear before speaking. "Don't worry about that bas-" he stopped himself when she brought her head back up and glared at him. Knowing she didn't like it when he cussed, he corrected himself before continuing, "-jerk, I'll make sure he doesn't hurt you anymore."

Sakura smiled warmly and embraced him, "thank you Syao-kun! You are truly wonderful. I'm so lucky to have you as a friend." She smiled sincerely against his chest.

The amber-eyed boy stroked her hair while returning the hug. _'Friends..._' he thought sadly, _'is that all it'll ever be...?'_

Sakura missed his painful smile, but she felt him tense for a second. "Is something wrong?" she asked as she slowly got out of their embrace.

"Iie. It's nothing," he told her. He paused a moment before speaking again, "You know that I'll always be there to protect you, right?"

She nodded.

"So, no worries. Although... I think Sakamoto-san should me more afraid of your brother...," he said slyly. He smiled when a giggle escaped from the auburn goddess's lips.

"Let's hope it doesn't have to come to that."

'_Yeah, I'll actually feel sorry for that bastard,'_ Syaoran thought to himself, _'though he deserves any punishment he gets for hurting my Sakura—wait, my?'_

"Hoeeeee!" she suddenly cried, snapping Syaoran from his thoughts; he looked at her questioningly.

"The first bell is about to ring, come on Syaoran-kun!" she grabbed his hand and started running, dragging him along with her.

Syaoran looked down at their hands and blushed as he allowed her to pull him along toward the school.

* * *

Finally, an update! xD Sorry to keep you all waiting.


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